struggling with maths

[clairesy1]

Hi,

My 6 yr old daughter is in yr 2 & is struggling with maths.

She has just been given an IEP just for maths & at recent target setting evening we was told she is working at level 1b , the IEP is to help her achieve a 2b by the end of yr 2.

Just a few things she can do, she can add , can subtract numbers within 20, knows number bonds to 10 & 20 , can count in 10's to 100, counts in 2's but only to 14 then needs help.

The main thing i find she is struggling with is coounting backwards, she can do this easily from 20 to 0 but any higher than 20 she gets really stuck & will cry & get upset if i ask her to practice.

She also reverses numbers a lot when writing them down & always says 12 for the number 21.

Just seems like she gets in such a muddle & you can see her brain almost jumbling up but she tries so hard

Just feel quite upset for her & dont know how to help ( would like to get her a tutor but cant afford one ).

Does anybody have any ideas pls, does she sound badly behind compared to where she should be?

Just to add she was only 6 at the end of june so one of the youngest in the class.

Thanks
Claire

My ds is yr 2 and can't do all of what you have mentioned (never even tried counting backwards higher than 10!) but can do other things. I know he is regarded as slightly above average in his class. Sounds to me like she isn't that far behind at all, don't worry. Just give her whatever support she needs.

She is at the begining of year 2 and is currently a 1B and they have given an IEP????

That is truly bizarre. A 1b at the beginning of year 2 is where she should be. She doesn't sound like she's struggling.

I wonder what's going on? Do you have any more info?

Thankyou SGertie.

Her homework last term was to practise counting backwards from 100-0 so i presumed this was the norm & what they were expected to know?

Also fri she brought home a sheet of 30 times table questions, only small numbers but for example ; 2x6=, 1x7=, 3x2= etc

Is this not the norm for u 2 then?

She's obviously not at this level yet so wont giving these to her just confuse & upset her even more

x

Indigobell,

The teacher said the IEP is to help her achieve a 2b by the end of yr2 as without it she will struggle to reach that and i'm guessing 2b at the end of the year is the average?

Last term she was put onto a numbers count programme but the teacher left so that was stopped, shame because her confidence grew loads with it!

If she is behind then half of my Y2 class are behind too.

In Y2 children are expected to know 2, 5 and 10 times tables.

A 2b at the end of year 2 is the expected level for all children to reach.

Schools vary slightly, but in my last school children in Year 1 were all targeted to achieve 1 full level (ie 3 sublevels) in all subjects in Year 1.

So therefore, in my last school, if she was achieving a 1b now she would be expected to achieve a 2b at the end of the year without any extra help.

Her school may have targets for children to only achieve 2 sublevels in year 1, which would put he a 2c - which is a perfectly fine grade as well.

What was on the IEP? It's meant to detail what extra support she's getting. Has she been put on a numeracy intervention?

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about doing extra stuff at home. School (for some reason) have decided to give her extra help, and they're giving her extra help.

She is exactly where she should be, and there is no reason at all for you to assume that she won't make a 2b at the end of the year.

Nor, if she only makes a 2c not a 2b would there be any reason to be concerned.

A predicted grade of a level 1 would worry me. But school should totally be able to get her a 2b without extra help from you.

Sorry I meant 3 sublevels in Y2 not in Y1

Claire ds hasn't had sheets of times tables but he can do 2x any number ( up to 100 as of this week)
I always thought if infant aged kids had their number bonds they were halfway there and everything else would fall into place.
I would chat to dd's teacher and see what their concerns are and how you can support her.

'In Y2 children are expected to know 2, 5 and 10 times tables'

mrz is that by the end of yr 2 or now?

Just been sp stressed about it since being told about the iep but already from your replies im feeling better so thankyou!

by the end of the year

Is it an independent school that is trying to be extremely academic?

I can't think of any other reason to imply that there are any problems with your daughter's maths if she is a 1b at the start of Y2...

a level 1b at the beginning of Y2 certainly doesn't warrant an IEP normally

No its a normal mainstream school.

From what the teacher said it seams she has been given the IEP to get her to reach the 2b by the end of yr 2 because without they think she will struggle & fall behind.

There a 3 targets on there , all 3 of which she is fully capable of & was when she was set them?( when i tested her anyway, which makes we wonder if she is different at school or something? )
I am going to see the teacher about them monday.

Dont know if this makes any difference to how the teachers see her but she is a very insecure child and seeks reassurance about her work constantly & hasnt much confidence that she is doing things right, but with a little push she usually can (does that make any sense? lol)

But an IEP shouldn't just contain targets, it should also detail what support your child is getting to help with the targets.

I'm sorry, but it sounds like your school totally doesn't know what an IEP is.

Quite obviously a piece of paper won't help her achieve anything.

So sorry you are being stressed when you shouldn't be.

Just looked at her IEP and it says
areas of concern :slow progress in numeracy
Type of support: small group
Start date: Oct 10
Review date :Oct 10

so it should of been reviewed already? She only get it 2 weeks ago?

IEPs are normally for 1 term or for 6 months.

It looks like she is going to do small group work for numeracy which is obviously a good thing, and it looks like the school is neither very good at writing IEPs or at communicating with parents.

So, don't worry, and let school get on with teaching her. Which they appear to be doing a perfectly fine job of.